Changes
by MirandaOfMilan
Summary: Can one simple decision change a man's future? How much depends on whether one stays or leaves, turns away or offers help? What happens, when one says no to one's family, and yes to a friendship?
1. Prologue

_Hello, it's me again, Miranda. This time, I try to translate a novel by Princess Tania, and the genre is not Shakespeare but Harry Potter. She even gave me permission to shorten or embellish her writing, or to change the later chapters. But of course I won't make a different story out of it, and I will only write as long as you read and leave comments. Positive or negative doesn't matter, but please review!_

_Special Thanks go to my beta reader marixoxella_

**1. Prologue**

The sunset sky above Scotland was heavily overcast, and an icy wind blew over the deserted Highlands. Neither man nor beast could be seen in the wide meadows or in the forests. Only one hawk owl fought against the rising storm and the rain, for she was on an important mission. The thin parchment wrapped around her right leg was usually not noticeable, but at the moment it threw the small owl off balance. She had nearly reached the mountains where she would hopefully be safe from the wind. The owl was finally able to right herself while she flew through the Grampian Mountains. Her target, the addressee's whereabouts, could not be much further away, and, as always, her instinct told the owl exactly in which direction she had to turn. At last, she reached a few trees that were still slightly leafy. On the branch of a big tree she rested for a few minutes. Then, she noticed a young man with brown hair who sat down under her tree and put his rucksack aside. His hair was uncombed and his face unshaven, he seemed untrustworthy. Only the crystal blue color of his eyes did not match his appearance. He opened his only piece of luggage and took out some rods and cloth and built a tent. The owl wondered how they had fit in the rucksack, but she was now sure that she had found the right person. Because of this, she flew down towards him elegantly.

Twelve hours earlier...

The young man awoke as a ray of sun shone in the tent and on his face. He went outside to wash himself at the nearby spring in the forest. The mountain air was comfortably cool, what made him sigh. During the three months he had stayed in the mountains, he had learned that such air was the herald of a thundery afternoon. He still had a long way to go, so he forewent his shave once more and left as early as possible. He would not meet anybody here anyway, which had been his main reason for visiting the Grampian Mountains. No one could recognize him, no one could talk to him about his past. He quickly packed his tent into the rucksack and moved on. Even if somebody came to this place, he or she would not see that anybody had slept here. The man hurried in the direction of the mountain peak, and soon he could see the first clouds covering the sky. The wind grew stronger, the ferns and grass bowed towards him. The ground became stony and the upward slope made it hard to walk. Finally, after many long hours, the peak of the Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, appeared on the horizon. At that very moment, the weather changed dramatically. What had been wind became a storm, rain became hail, and bolts of lightning lit up the clouds. The man covered his face with a hood and ran, he spotted some boulders that could protect him from the weather. A few minutes later, he stood on dry ground and waited for the hail to stop.

The boulders did help him, but they made him feel uncomfortable. They made him remember. He had stood in a cave like this, many years ago. It had not been in Scotland, but in Bulgaria. He had touched the walls of sandstone, looked out on peaks of the Balkan had often been thunderstorms, but he had not been so afraid of them. He had not been alone, he had had a friend. Or, at least, that was what he had thought...

A change of the sounds surrounding the man brought him back to reality. The hail had become rain again. The wanderer shook his head. That time was over, three years had passed since then.

With these thoughts in mind, he stepped out onto the British landscape he favored over other European landscapes at any weather. Some deep breaths and a half an hour later, he came across a very bright rock, that made him recall another memory, even older than the last one, from the time before he had begun traveling. He remembered a white gravestone, which he had only seen a few times. The last time has been on the day he had left home forever. At that time two names had been written down in the marble, not just one. But that, too, belonged to the past. He did not intend to return to the place where he had spent the last years of his childhood, where he had had to become grown up from one day to the next. He would continue to avoid any places that could reopen old wounds, just like the people that had meant so much to him. He had to look foward, to live in the present and for the thought motivated him, made him move faster. It even improved his mood, and the rain stopped completely. And now that it was safe again to stand under trees, some appeared out of nowhere to protect him from the wind.

Because it had become dark, he decided to sleep in their shadow. He sat down and laid against a tree trunk. Without almost any sound, he muttered some protective spells, so that neither muggles nor witches or wizards could see him. Another spell dried his clothes, then he took his tent out of the rucksack. After doing so, hee heard an unexpected sound. He looked up, just to see a hawk owl landing next to him, carrying a letter. For one foolish second, the man hoped that the owl would mistake him for somebody else, but post owls never do. And on the completely dry envelope, six words were written down in the most legible handwriting he had ever seen, a handwriting he could recognize anytime as the one in which his invitation to Hogwarts had been written. But why on earth was he in the mountains right now, the addressee wondered. Why did he hide since his escape, when the owls could still find him, even in the middle of nowhere? He looked at the bird for a moment, then back to the letter. Even the words on the envelope were the same as on the invitation to school, it was his name. _To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore._


	2. Home, sweet home

**2. Home, sweet home**

30 October 1905

_Dear Mr. Dumbledore,_

_From what I heard, you are travelling alone at the moment. I wonder if you and your fellow traveller had a clash of opinions, but this, of course, is your personal business. Just remember that you can contact me whenever you like, even though you are no longer my student. But the main reason for me writing this letter is another. Our headmaster, Mr. Scamander, is retiring, and I will be his successor. The position of Transfiguration professor is therefore open. I recall your talent in this subject and would not be surprised if you have become an animagus in the meantime. That is why I want to ask you, in case you have no other commitments, to take the job of Transfiguration professor._

_Of course, it remains your decision._

_Please answer as soon as possible._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Armando Dippet_

Albus Dumbledore stared at the letter in his hands. He should become a teacher? That would have never crossed his mind. Well, his former professor had a point, Transfiguration has always been his favourite subject. But he doubted he would be able to impart his knowledge to students. Plus, he wanted to avoid returning to Hogwarts. He had already made too many wrong decisions, he did not dare to take such responsibility. He quickly wrote down an answer and handed it out to the owl. Then he went to bed to recover from the passed day's exertions. He moved forward until he stood at a lake's shore. At the opposite end of the lake stood a majestic mountain with a towering castle. Why on earth did he choose this place as his next destination, when he decided not to return yesterday? He did not know, but he continued to walk. In front of an iron gate he stopped and looked at the coat of arms: four animals who were arranged around an embellished H. Albus carefully opened the door and went to the entrance of the castle. A small boy with brown hair stood there waiting for him. It was himself, but as a child. Then he changed, grew taller, and his hair turned blond. Gellert Grindelwald laughed. Albus wanted to leave, but he was not standing by Hogwarts any more. He was in a cave with no entrance, alone with the sound of Gellert's voice.

"So, I see that you have returned to me, dear friend."

Albus cried out and awoke.

It had been just another nightmare. They were always so realistic, a mixture of what he had experienced the previous day and memories of his former friend. Sometimes, Albus was afraid Gellert was sending him these dreams.

But that was not possible, or was it?

The next morning, Albus continued climbing and soon reached the top of the mountain. His efforts had been worthwhile. The view over the other mountains and the highlands was unique. He spotted the trees under which he had slept, the boulders under which he had hid from the storm, and a river he had not seen before. It was a good thing, too, as Albus could use a bath. So he descended and went to the water. After swimming around a bit, he walked along the shore until he came across a big waterfall. The valley it led to was beautiful, the grass seemed to be greener than anywhere else and the trees were still blooming, though it was nearly winter. When he climbed into the valley, he reached a completely different, breathtaking world, covered by a shining rainbow. Albus laid down and closed his eyes. He concentrated on the sounds around him. A squirrel ran across the grass, birds tweeted and somebody sang a wonderful song. A song? One moment it really sounded like it, but it was only a bird. Confused, the wizard opened his eyes again and saw a bird flying above him. A bird with golden feathers. Albus smiled as he finally figured out where he was.

He was in the Phoenix's Valley.

Many legends spoke of this place and Albus' father used to tell him stories of the magical birds living there. Albus has always been fascinated by these stories, especially because every now and then some wizards claimed to have found the valley. No one could tell where it was located, of course, but all of them described it just like what Albus' surroundings looked like.

There was only one question: Why did the phoenix not hide in a tree when Albus arrived at his home? Usually, people could only hear the birds, but not see them. And instead of just flying around, the phoenix moved towards Albus and landed on a nearby branch. He stared curiously at Albus with his dark eyes.

"Hello, who are you?" the wizard asked, but of course, he got no answer.

The bird simply watched over Albus and sang him to a calm and dreamless sleep.

When Albus woke up the next morning, he noticed that the phoenix was still there, and walked through the valley. When he had reached a certain distance, the bird arose and flew closer.

At first, the phoenix was very shy, but in the end he even sat on Albus' shoulder. Albus enjoyed the closeness, but knew he could not stay in the valley for long, so he told the phoenix to fly away, and was surprised when the bird did so. Albus sighed and disapparated, expecting to never see his new friend again. He re-apparated in a forest near Smalltown, a village that was just as ordinary as its name. But for Albus it had been like a second home once. These were the very trees under which he had used to play hide-and-seek with his brother and sister when they were on holiday with their parents. When the unfortunate chain of events that changed the family's life began with the detainment of Percival Dumbledore, his wife Kendra had been so busy trying to start a new life far away that she simply forgot about Smalltown. But in Albus' memories it stayed forever.

And in all these years, nothing seemed to have changed. Then Albus stopped and stared at a tree branch. There was the phoenix. He must had flown near Albus, and thereby had been transported with him. He wanted to accompany the wizard, who was very thankful. The phoenix flew to his shoulder, and together they headed to the house where the Dumbledores had lived. At first glance, Albus knew the Fidelius Charm still worked and he entered the only place where he had been allowed to do magic in the muggle world. It had been possible to be seen anywhere else, what Ariana had had to learn painfully.

Albus stepped into the living room, but one look at the table sent him running out of the house again. In his hand he held an envelope addressed to him. That was not possible.

Nobody should be able to go into the house. Shocked, he disapparated to the Grampian Mountains again, where he felt more safe. There, he opened the letter and found a cut -out of a newspaper article from the Daily Prophet. It was an advertisement that a house in Godric's Hollow was for rent, the house where the Dumbledores had lived together for the last time. Somebody wanted Albus to live there again? He could not explain it. Out of curiosity, he turned the paper around and found parts of an article about Bathilda Bagshot. She had left her hometown to do research for a new book she wanted to write, so she would not be Albus' neighbour if he should choose to return. And Albus found out something else. The advertisement had been published on the fifth of November, the previous night. The house would probably already have been rented. But wait, the fifth of November... Albus remembered.

"Guy Fawkes Night," he said and turned to look at the phoenix.

"Would you like to be called Fawkes?" The bird sang a short melody, what Albus interpreted as a yes.

The next day, Albus wanted to visit the owner of his old house, a Mr. Richards, but before doing so, he went to the cemetery of Godric's Hollow. The place in front of the church was still empty, Gellert had promised Albus to build a statue there, showing the two of them, the "saviours of magicians." The thought of it made Albus laugh. For Gellert, this sentence meant the oppression of muggles and nothing else. It had been so naive of him to believe his friend's words.

With these thoughts, Albus went to his family's white gravestone. He had not been there for six years, but he still remembered his last visit. It had been on the day of Ariana's burial. He had laid a white rose down on the grave, trying to blink away the tears, when Aberforth stepped forward, too. He apologized to Ariana for their brother's behavior, that he had not been able to protect her from him. Completely shocked, Albus had gone behind the church and told Aberforth that the other guest now thought that Aberforth blamed him for her death.

"Then they are right. You have never been there for her, you ignored her, spent all your time with your new best friend."

"Leave Gellert out of this. It hadn't been his fault! If you had problems, you should have told me earlier, now half the town has heard you."

"I did, Albus. I told you more than once that we wanted to do something together with you, but you never listened."

Aberforth had begun to beat his older brother, who had run home after his nose had been hit very hard. He packed some things into a rucksack and left, had not looked back when Aberforth called his name, he had been sure that Aberforth wanted Albus to apologize. He had disapparated to Bulgaria, where Gellert had been waiting for him. It had taken Albus more than three years to figure out that his future plans were completely different from Gellert's.

And now another four years had passed, and Albus was in Godric's Hollow again. He left the cemetery to go to Mr. Richards, who introduced himself as a wizard, the advertisement in the Daily Prophet had been the only one.

"I prefer knowing who I can talk to about magic," he explained.

While drinking a cup of tea, Albus told him he was Thomas James, a researcher from Scotland, who had sold his house before going on a longer journey, and was now looking for a new home.

Mr. Richards seemed to be impressed by this story, especially about Thomas' interest in the uses of dragon's blood.

"I tried to find some more uses too, you know? It did not work. But anyway, I guess you would like to see the house you want to rent. I am going to write a note for my wife, then we can go, it's only one street away," Mr. Richards guided Albus through the town and showed him the house.

Most of the furniture was still there, Aberforth had only taken his bed with him, and Albus' room was empty. He was sure his brother had burned the furniture after Albus had left, at least that was what he would have done himself. Albus told Mr. Richards he would rent the house and signed the contract. Now, he was officially called Thomas James. His new life could begin.


	3. Old friends, new friends

**3. Old friends, new friends**

When Albus awoke the next morning, he feared it would have only been a dream, and was glad when he realized he really lived in Godric's Hollow again. And he had a fellow lodger. Fawkes had stayed the night and sat next to Albus while the wizard ate breakfast. Afterwards, he left the house to find a woman waiting for him in a moving van.

"Good morning Mr. James. My name is Melina Richards and my husband told me you have rented the house, so I was wondering if you needed this car."

Albus thanked her and she drove him to a home centre where he bought what he needed. But mostly, he bought plants. When Mrs. Richards helped him arranging the new things, she was confused that Albus had one room in which he put no furniture at all, only plants.

"This will be my pet's room," he explained to her.

But before she could ask him what kind of animal he owned, Fawkes flew in through the open door and landed on a bonsai plant. Mrs. Richards nearly fainted when she saw the phoenix and wanted to know how Albus had found him.

To explain it, he asked her and Mr. Richards to come round for dinner.

Some months later, Albus had settled into the village fine. He became a part of the community, invited them to drink coffee and eat cake or he was invited by others. It was completely opposite to the years he had lived in Godric's Hollow with his mother and his siblings. He was respected by both wizards and muggles and respected them. But he liked Mr. Richards best, they had even done some experiments and found the eighth use of dragon's blood together.

One day, the Richards asked him to come round because they 'needed to talk to him'. But when he arrived early in the afternoon, the house was empty. Only the door to the garden was open, so Albus went outside. One moment, silence surrounded him, then there were people everywhere shaking his hand and congratulating him. He had completely forgotten his birthday.

"Mrs. Richards, are all birthdays celebrated this big in Godric's Hollow?"

"No, not really. But this is a late welcoming party, too. And by the way, you can call me Melina."

"And I am Oliver," her husband added.

Albus – or Thomas, as he was called now –thanked the two of them and then cut a cake, when somebody began talking to him.

"Excuse me, Mr. James?"

Albus turned around. A man he had never seen before looked at him, a young woman was standing behind him.

"My name is Robert MacSmith and this is my sister Jessica. We are friends of the Richards and wanted to meet you. You see, they always talk so positively about you, they really like you. And we come from Scotland, too. Where did you live before?"

Since Albus had first used the name Thomas James, he had thought of a complete biography, and now he was glad about it. Mr. MacSmith asked him so many questions, he wanted to know everything about Albus. In the end, Albus wondered if the mysterious Scottish man was Gellert's spy, but that wasn't possible. No one sent by him would behave that conspicuously. On the other hand, his sister Jessica said nothing at all, which seemed very strange, too. When Albus began thinking of a way to leave, Melina called him and he went to the kitchen.

"What's up Melina?"

She laughed. "That is what I wanted to ask you. Has this man hassled you?"

"Why don't you call him by name? He said he is a friend of yours."

Melina looked confused, "No, I've never seen him before. Maybe he's a former classmate of Oliver, but he's definitely no friend of ours."

When Albus returned to the garden, Robert MacSmith and his sister were nowhere to be seen. He continued to celebrate some time, then he left and went back home. A piece of paper lay on the table of the living room and it made Albus think of the one in Smalltown. But this time, three words were written down and Albus didn't recognise the handwriting. He read: 'Welcome back home.' Back? Who could know that he had lived there before? Albus could only think of Bathilda Bagshot who was still on her journey around the world, and Gellert who was still in Bulgaria. At least, Albus hoped so.

Albus had forgotten the strange events at his birthday fairly quickly. The summer holidays had just begun and many of his friends were travelling. He wanted to use this opportunity to go to Diagon Alley and buy some books and other magical things. He travelled by floo powder through the Richards' chimney because his own had been bricked up by his mother. She did not want to have a chimney after two wizards of the Ministry of Magic had appeared in the Dumbledores' living room in Mould on the Wold to arrest her husband because Percival had killed three young muggles who had hurt Ariana for using magic unknowingly. He had never confessed it, but Albus had been able to watch most of it from his window. Ariana had made flowers bloom in the garden. When the boys had entered and pushed her, she had fallen on the ground. Percival had run out, his wand raised, and he had chased them away. The Ministry's wizards had told Albus the rest of the story.

Albus would never be able to forget that day.

The Leaky Cauldron was nearly empty when Albus arrived there. He was not recognised by anyone because he had began to grow a beard and because he had magically made his hair look black instead of maroon. The alley was strangely empty, but, of course, the students had not yet been informed about what they needed for their next term. Albus noticed a new ice saloon and went in its direction. Shortly before ordering something, he remembered that he wasn't able to pay with muggle money. So he went to Gringotts first and since goblins did not ever talk about their customers, he could take some money out of his own vault.

After eating some ice cream, Albus went to Mr Ollivander's because he had had some problems with his wand since he had left Bulgaria and Gellert. Olivander asked a boy sitting at the window to get some new wands and afterwards turned to Albus.

"Mr. 'James'? What a nice name. But you must know, honesty is very important when you talk about wands. So, Mr. Dumbledore, your character seems to have changed lately. That happens every now and then, and sometimes, wizards need a new wand when that time comes."

The boy returned and Albus tried out some wands. He quickly found a better one.

"Thank you, Garrick," the old wizard said, then turned to Dumbledore again. "My son seems to be talented as a wandmaker, he will own this shop one day. So, your new wand is made of holly instead of ash wood, length and core stay the same. Ash wood symbolises life in general and its end, too. Holly shows defense against evil. I think it is appropriate to congratulate you."

Defense against evil. Albus thought about these words. Had he made Gellert think about his plans after all? Had he made him change his opinion? Probably not, he would have contacted Albus otherwise. But why did he now own that wand, then? With these thoughts, he visited one last shop and bought some books. Back home, he began reading one about Transfiguration. It was very interesting,and Albus found out much about how the best known charms had been devised and how they could be adapted to different situations.

The last chapters were about Animagi and why it was illegal to become one without the Ministry of Magic's knowledge. On the very last page, an Animagus described how the transfiguration plays itself out. For normal wizards, it was impossible to get any further information out of this book, but Albus had always been a natural when it came to Transfiguration. He began trying things out, modifying charms, and one day, he asked Oliver Richards to assist him with a new experiment.

"No, it's not about dragon's blood this time. I want to try a Transfiguration Charm. If anything goes wrong, or if I behave strangely, I need a Finite Incantatem from you. And please do not tell anybody, not even Melina, what you will see now."

Albus waved his wand, whispered the charm he had chosen, and waited. At first nothing happened, but then the world around him seemed to grow. He had to turn his arms behind him, it felt as if he would dislocate his arms. But then it was over and the pain stopped.

"Thomas! How on earth did you do that?"

So, it did work. Oliver sounded very impressed, but Albus felt uncomfortable with his new body and tried to become human again. It was no problem.

"Thomas, you are an Animagus. That's great, but why have you not chosen an animal like a cat? I guess the transfiguration would be much easier then. But anyway, you managed it perfectly. There is not a single detail you have forgotten."

"Oliver, that might sound strange, but I did not choose any animal. I... I got to know somehow, that it is easier to transform without a special wish for your new appearance. You become an animal fitting to your character or something like that. So, if I may ask, what kind of animal did I become?"

"You do not know? Well, I won't tell you. Just transfigure again and look into a mirror, you have to see it yourself."

So, Albus went into his bedroom, stood in front of the mirrored door of his wardrobe and did what Oliver had asked him to do. He looked into the mirror and saw...


	4. Free like a bird

_Hello, is there anybody out there reading this story? Please leave a review to let me know what I can improve._

**4. Free like a bird**

He looked into the mirrow and saw... a phoenix. Albus carefully spread his wings and flew. In front of the window, he landed and became human again.

"Very impressive," Oliver said, "but you should work on your flying skills. I know somebody who could help you."

Oliver pointed to Fawkes, who had just returned from a flight. Then he said goodbye, he had to return to his wife. Albus transfigured once more and flew towards Fawkes, who sat on a branch in his room.

The phoenix looked at him and said, "Thomas?"

His voice was beautiful, it sounded like his song, but now Albus was able to understand him.

"Fawkes, you can speak?" Albus realised that his own voice sounded very melodic, too. "And why do you call me Thomas?"

"Is it not your name? Oliver and the others always call you that way. Do you want me to use another name?"

Albus assessed his situation, but he did not mentioned his earlier life, he decided to tell Fawkes that he was hiding from somebody and had to live under a fake name. Fawkes listened to him, but didn't ask any questions. Afterwards, Albus added some important information about magical and non-magical people and that some wizards were Animagi, so that Fawkes knew why Albus looked like a phoenix now.

The he had a question: "When you are not here, what do you do? Do you hunt or just flying around unseen?"

"Most of the time, I visit my family in our valley. Would you like to accompany me once?"

Albus nodded and thanked Fawkes. He was very tired, so he wanted to go to bed, but then he remembered one more thing.

"Fawkes is not your real name, is it?"

"No, I am called Rose-of-dawn, but Fawkes is fine."

The next morning, Albus was very nervous. Would he meet other phoenixes today? Before eating breakfast, he went into Fawkes' room to greet him, but he couldn't utter a single word. His friend looked ill, the red and golden feathers were pale and yellow, some even lay on the floor. Shocked, Albus flew towards him, he didn't even notice the pain of taking a bird's shape anymore.

"Fawkes, are you all right? Can I help you?"

"Good morning, Albus, nice to see you. I'm okay, you don't need to worry. In fact, I am quite sure that you've heard stories about my current situation."

"A phoenix bursts into flames when he has to die and then he rises again from the ashes?" Albus quoted a book about legendary magical beasts.

Fawkes nodded. He said that today was his Burning Day, so the flying lessons had to be postponed to the next day.

"But will you stay the same? I mean, can you keep your memories?"

"Yes. I can remember hundreds of life cycles, and zillions will follow, because birds like me never truly die. I will burn this evening and be fully grown again tomorrow around noon."

The phoenix was right, so Albus was able to learn flying from him the next day. Fawkes and Albus both spread their wings and floated through the living room. When the tips of their feathers touched, the world around them disappeared, Fawkes had taken his friend to a wide field, where they were completely alone. They began practicing straight flights, in normal speed and faster. Afterwards, Albus needed a short break, so Fawkes showed him some tricks, he spiraled up into the air, flew loops, and when he sank down again, it looked more like falling than flying.

When Albus saw how much flying inspired the phoenix, he began flying easy manoeuvres, too. It was like flying on a broomstick somehow, but much more comfortable. Soon they raced, the faster one chose the route. Of course, it was Fawkes most of the time, but Albus did not give up. Later, they trained in a forest, where they flew a zigzag course around branches. Soon, Albus felt like a real phoenix, but he was glad he would not burst into flames any minute.

"Are you ready?" Fawkes asked some days later.

"Yes, I am," Albus replied.

He was very nervous, because he would return to Phoenix Valley that day. Once more, Fawkes disapparated and took the transfigured wizard with him. They landed inside the crown of a tree, and Fawkes began singing. Albus heard the sound of wings, and two birds landed next to him. The bigger one had yellow and golden feathers like Albus, the smaller one was surprisingly colorful. Some of its feathers were only golden, some nearly white, and the ones on its head were dark orange or light red. The yellow phoenix began to speak in a dark voice.

"Good morning, dawn. As I see, you brought a visitor with you. Don't you want to introduce us?"

"Yes, Father. Albus, this is my father, Bathed-in-sunshine. My mother is called Aurora-borealis. But I miss -"

Fawkes was disrupted by another phoenix, breaking through the leaves very fast. Her voice was very sharp and high.

"Hey, who are you?" she asked Albus.

Fawkes sighed.

"There she is, my younger sister Bright-falling-star. Don't worry, you do not have to remember our complete names. Just say Sunshine, Aurora and Starlet."

"Stop calling me Starlet! It is Falling-star."

Albus laughed. Aberforth had hated his nickname 'Abe', too. But that had been no reason not to call his brother 'Al.' At least the names of the phoenixes fitted their colors: Falling-star was nearly white.

Now, Albus had to be introduced.

"And this is Albus, the man I live with."

Although a bird's expression was new to Albus, he was sure that the phoenixes surrounding him looked flabbergasted. So he explained why and how he had taken the shape of a phoenix. After he finished, in fact, even while he was talking, Falling-star bombarded Albus with questions. When Aurora thought Falling-star was finished, she spoke for the first time.

"Starlet, give our guest time to breath. Albus, would you like us to show you our valley? I've lived here for nearly nine hundred life cycles, so there is a lot I could tell you about this place."

Starlet continued flying while the others took a break. Aurora excused her daughter's behavoir, explaining that her daughter was only fifteen life cycles old. Albus then asked if there were more places like the valley.

"Yes, of course there are some. I was born near the biggest lake in Italy. But I soon felt that it was my fate to come here. Sunshine is from Russia."

Albus was confused.

"You felt your fate? What do you mean by that?"

"Just as I said. Every phoenix feels when he or she should be in a certain place or do something special. Sunshine and I, we knew we would meet here."

"And when I first saw you, I knew I should accompany you. It was my fate to live with you," Fawkes added. "You are a very special man who will do great things."

Albus was touched by his friend's words. But didn't Mr. Ollivander say something similar when he explained the meaning of Albus' new wand? Maybe it was not as implausible as it had sounded at first.

Albus stayed at the valley the whole day and returned later. But the only man who he could talk to about his experiences was Oliver. He enjoyed listening, but sadly, Albus could not take him to the valley. Some powerful magic protected the valley, humans were not able to apparate into it and Fawkes' family preferred not to be visited by humans too often.

Anyway, the Richards stayed his friends and Oliver's wife Melina even found a job for him. Albus became reporter of a local radio station for wizards. Sometimes, he had to read out missing persons reports, the more he worked the longer the list got. He realised all had disappeared in eastern European countries, most of them in Russia. Nobody was able to explain this, but Albus had a scary suspicion: Gellert Grindelwald. Was he trying to achieve his goal to become the ruler of the world? But he decided it was too early to think about this, there were dozends of possible explanations, or, at least, Albus hoped so.


	5. The Golden Snitch

_Hello. My Beta-Reader still needs to look over this chapter, but I publish it now so that you have more time to review. By the way, you could tell me to wait for my beta-reader with the new chapters in a review, too ;-)_

**05 The Golden Snitch**

The sun set when three birds appeared over a meadow. Albus flew to the big rocks, Fawkes and his sister followed. The wizard explained why this place, Stonehenge, was so fascinating for muggles and which events were connected with it for witches and wizards. Both phoenixes listened to him, especially Starlet was exited because she left the valley for the first time.

„Albus? My brother, our parents and I, we all have told you something about our lives now. But what has happened in your past? What did you do before you met Fawkes?"

Fawkes looked at his sister with a reproachful glance. Albus had needed nearly three years to learn it, but now, he was able to understand the facial expressions of birds.

„It's allright, Fawkes. I travelled through some countries with a friend, Gellert. For example Russia, where your father was born. But then we had some clashes of opinion, and I left. We did no longer have the same aims."

'We did never have the same aimes', Albus corrected himself silently. Even Aberforth had noticed it. But he did not want to tell Starlet. Both phoenixes realised something was still untold, but they never asked Albus about it, they avoided the topic. One day, Albus could no longer keep his secret and finally spoke to Fawkes about how his father had been arrested, how his mother had died and how he met Gellert. He explained why he had been so interested in Gellert's ideas and why he had ignored Aberforth's warnings. The phoenix learned about the duell during which Ariana had died and the reasons for Albus' decision to go away with Gellert. He never interrupted his friend, and afterwards, he thanked the wizard for his trust and honesty.

The weather contrasted with Albus' mood. He felt free and happy, whereagainst the sky became cloudy and the air became cold. Soon it would be Halloween, and Albus recalled the feasts that were celebrated in Hogwarts then. So all of the students and teachers would stay in the castle, and it would be very calm in Hogsmead. He put on some warm clothes and went to the room of Fawkes. Too late he remembered that the phoenix had flown to visit his grandparents in Italy for some weeks, then he disapparated alone..

In Hogsmead, the sun was shining, and Albus enjoyed walking through the streets. Some restaurants like the 'Three Broomsticks' he knew from his time as a student, but he did not intend to go there now. Instead, he explored some sideways, idylic places he had never seen before. It was as peacefull as Godric's Hollow, and Albus tried to imagine living there. Bathilda Bagshot would quite soon return to her hometown, and Albus was not sure if he would like to stay. Something else he knew for sure: He was hungry. But he had lost his bearings and did not know where he could find a restaurant.

After some time, he entered the 'Golden Snitch'. He ordered a pumpkin lasagne, a speciality of his mother that he had not eaten since his childhood. The waitress, a young woman, guided him to a table with good view over the whole restaurant. All tables were made of bright oak and decorated with creamy tableclothes and red flowers. Albus was so impressed that he stoped thinking about why the waitress remembered him of somebody.

„Excuse me?" It was her again. „The lasagne needs some more time, but I have a question. This restaurant has opened exactly five years ago today, so the owner wants to know what new guests think about it. Would you answer him some questions, maybe?"

Albus nodded, and followed the women to a staircase.

„Please, go upstairs. I will tell him you are here."

A bit confused, Albus did what she said, and entered a comfortable living room with bright blue furniture. Family pictures were hanging on the walls, and Albus felt like he should not be there. Then, he had a closer look at the pictures. The waitress stood in the middle of one, togeht er with older people, probably her parents. And onother man stood next to her, Robert MacSmith. The man Albus had met on his birthday celebration three years ago. Now he realised the waitress was his sister Jessica . He had already become nervous back then, and now he was in their house? He hurried to the next picture. This time, Albus saw three children and their parents. Percival and Kendra, Aberforth and Ariana smiled at Albus, just like himself! What on earth should Robert MacSmith do with a picture of the Dumbledore's. Just as Albus wanted to leave, he heard a voice behind him.

„Albus, please, don't go away now. It's nice to see you again."

„Aberforth!"

Albus turned around and looked at his brother, who had changed very much.

What are you doing here?"

„I live here, and I own the restaurant. Please sit down, then I can explain some things to you. If you like, we can later eat the lasagne together. Or you leave and go somewhere else, as you like."

Albus thought about wether he should go, but he wanted to end the argument with his brother, so he sat down next to him. So many questions filled his mind, he did not know where to start. So, instead of asking anything, he said that he was sorry. Aberforth looked at him, confused.

„For the fact that I preffeered spending time with Gellert to staying with Ariana and you. That I did not listen to your warnings. That I ruined her funeral. That she had to die."

„Oh Albus. I forgave you long ago. I got involved in the duell, I am as guilty as Gellert and you. And on the cemetry, it was me who overreacted. And about you and him, I think I understand why you spent so much more time with him than with us."

Albus could not believe what he heard. He was unendingly glad about his brother's words, but at the same time very sad because he had left him alone when Aberforht had most needed a family.

„I knew you would need some time on your own. But I returned to Godric's Hollow every holiday, hoping you would have returned. Only when I opened this reastaurant I decided to sell the house, but I still wanted to send you a message. Then I remembered our journeys to Smalltown, and hid a Daily Prophet there. And you finally found it."

Albus was deeply touched, and he felt tears in his eyes. Aberforth noticed them, and embraced him.

„But, when you knew where I lived, why did you never come to visit me?"

„I did. I visited you on your twenty-sixth birthday. We talked to each other, don't you remember?"

Albus looked to the pictures at the wall once more. „Robert MacSmith?" he asked.

„Yes. He is my girlfriend's brother, and he gave me some hairs for Polyjuice Potion."

„You have a girlfriend? Congratulations. Could you introduce us?"

As if she had only waiteed for this sentence, the waitress, Jessica MacSmith, entered the living room.

„Hello again, Albus. So, it seems like I will cook for four persons today?"

„Yes honey. Thank you. Well, Albus, like I said before, I returned to Hogwarts after you left, and I got my N.E. . Afterwards, I had to think about a profession I would be interested in. Becoming a chef came to my mind, but our head teacher, Professor Scamander, offered me something better, he asked me to become an assistant teacher. Today I suppose he just pittied me because I had nobody left at home. You see, in some ways it wads good that you accompanied Gellert, because I worked in Hogwarts one more year. And during that year, I met Jessie."

„Don't worry," Jessica chuckled, I am not that much younger than your brother. I come from eastern Europe ant went to Durmstrang till 1902. But when I refused to participate in 'Dark Arts' studies, I was thrown out of the school. Thats why I went to Hogwarts for my last two schoolyears. But Aberforth realised in the first year hat he did not like the work, so he opened a restaurant in Hogsmead."

„But, why are you celebrating your fifth jubilee today, and not yous seventh?"

„Jessica did not talk about the Snitch, but about the Hogs Head. Yes, I know it is no good name. But have I ever been creative? And it was as bad as its name."

„Abe exaggerates. A femine touch was missing, that's all. From my travels to Hogsmead in my seventh grade, I knew where Abe was working, so I bought the house next to the Hogs Head. And during my vocational training, I sometimes visited him and proposed things to pretty it up."

„Until nothing was left of the Restaurant I had planned. I opened it anew, gave it another name and made Jessie a part owner. Then we fell in love and she moved in with me.

„You talked about your vocational training, but you do not officially work as a restaurant manager, do you?"

„No. I am a lmember of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I work as a lawyer. By the way, you won't believe how much has changed in the last few years. Some years ago, it had only been possible to find out which had been the last spells performed with a certain wand. Now, we can see who or what had been hit by spells and who had performed them. That is really fascinating, don't you think so, Albus?"

Albus had not really listened to the last sentences of Jessica. He had remembered the day his father had been arrested. Some wizards of the Ministry of magic had controlled which had been Percival's last spell. In a loud, mechanical voice, two words had sounded through the living room, two words Albus had often heard in nightmares afterwards. „Avada Kedavra". But Albus did not need to answer Jessica, because she looked at the clock and left for the kitchen.

„We are awaiting another guest, a former client of Jessica, who she freed from Azkaban." Aberforth explained. „He could arrive at any minute." While he spoke, the flames in the fireplace turnen green, and a man stepped into the room. It was Percival Dumbledore.


End file.
